What tricks/tips do you you when producing your chiptune (Page 3 of 4)

LSDJ / NL1.x: record from a "prosound" DMG (see line-out mod).
NL2.3 / other GBA stuff: record from a DS lite.

Last edited by motone (Jan 15, 2010 9:58 am)

a ton of compression on the gameboy.  at least 50% (2:1)
noise gate set as sensitive as it will go with a quick release.
on the channels with the gameboy i'll usally boost the bass and turn down the highs.
this gives nanovoice some pop and helps control the how noisey it is.

i had a RNLA on my main inserts and i really liked it but it was borrowed and i don't have it any more.

words of wisdom from Busta:

I make sure everything remains raw [4X]

I think there should be a different thread for chip "mixing" techniques as opposed to "production," but I will throw this here (and assuming you aren't just leaving it raw and are mixing on a DAW):

* I find that mixing at (annoyingly) low volumes helps (if it sounds good low, you'll grin when you crank it up and it becomes "big" and warm, and hearing the high-mids of a blazing chip arpeggio come alive will make you appreciate how flaky your ears are and how little control you ultimately have on what your shit will sound like to the end user).
* I record, mix, and master at the same time
* Usually cut highs of track around 7-10K for a warmer sound that is less painful at higher volumes.
* the track usually sounds better to me if I compress channels and then very lightly compress the master
* mix the bass and drums lower than I think they should be (and hand the baton to car stereo/iPod/headphones loudness / compression)
* make about 5-10 trips to my car (and the cars of others) to check the low end
* headphones don't translate, as a rule
* Use near fields instead of sats and a sub unless you're prepared to spend 6 months getting used to them.
* Sit some cheap-ass computer speakers next to your monitors (I have some little Bose speakers from Target) and use them for reference too. Don't pat yourself on the back until your shit sounds good without two 8.5" drivers 2 feet away from you.

Edited for updated info

Last edited by RushCoil (Jul 2, 2010 12:20 am)

I multitrack everything lately, synced manually to a reference point at the beginning and end of each track.
I have only had sync problems with songs 7:00+ minutes long w/ lots of tempo changes, but it worked well in the end.  MIDI is not needed.
This has been very fruitful, it allows for lots of tweaking.

@Herr_prof: prosound.  I do not notice noise at all in my mixes, no noise gate.

I have prosunded gameboys and the noise still bothers me on multi tracks. Maybe im hoping for too much.

What noise removal stuff do you use? Waves xnoise is nice but its easy to wreck the sound of the game boy using it.